


May It Repeat Itself

by snarechan



Category: Transformers, Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-04-13
Updated: 2008-04-13
Packaged: 2017-10-23 12:08:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/250126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snarechan/pseuds/snarechan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Optimus Prime's weakness isn't quite what you think…</p>
            </blockquote>





	May It Repeat Itself

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Devilish Kurumi](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Devilish+Kurumi).



> A giftfic for Devilish Kurumi. Well, one of the many, many, many that I sprang on her.

Many would argue that Optimus Prime doesn't have weaknesses – though really, he does have at least one that so few realize. Not to be mistaken for shortcomings, of which there might be a couple worth pointing out that even he will readily admit to, he has quite an obsession that is, at the least, distracting.

And that weakness is his love for history.

The theories of their creation, the golden era of true peace, the time of the war… All of it interests him, _has_ interested him from even the time of his youth, and continues to captivate the Autobot. In the Academy, he excelled in every course involving such material and truly became aware of the importance of his most favored part of their past: the war.

When he was (frequently) bored on his off-hours during their time repairing gates he would peruse whatever the ship's databanks had stored, be it propaganda, documentaries, or even just articles concerning the period. By the time they had crash-landed on Earth, he had probably viewed every single piece of literature and visual feed five times.

He reasons that, maybe…that's why he has such a fascination with Ratchet. He is the oldest out of all of them – Bumblebee often jokingly argued that he was the first Autobot ever developed – and, though blunt and critical, has a wide variety of wisdom and experience at his fingertips. His advice, insight, and knowledge gained through the hardships he has faced are truly invaluable.

It is one thing to read and watch reports stating facts and numbers or hear spun tales of nothing but the results of things that are known by anyone in their society, but it's not enough. Ratchet has so much more to offer – a firsthand point of view, emotion, details that no computer can spit out for those looking for answers to what happened while it _was_ happening. The older mech even has a few experiences before the war, from a time only conceivable now because there are hardly enough Decepticons left to allow the Autobots of today to imagine a torn planet.

The times that the other opens up are rare, but Optimus has come to cherish such moments to the fullest because of it. He acknowledges it as a form of trust and feels honored to be permitted such personal insights; the younger mech hangs on his every word and becomes engrossed in the medic's own memories. Sometimes they're so vivid, so _intense_ , that he feels as if he is actually where Ratchet said he was, healing the wounded in the midst of battle or protecting his allies and friends.

Not all of them are glorified, either, and as he gradually comes to understand the few of those Ratchet is willing to share, Optimus Prime realizes that he might appreciate those the most. It's harder to get more honest and brutal than those stories – of the unfortunate ones Ratchet could not save or the gruesome scenes he had been witness to. They are the ones Optimus remains perfectly silent and vigilant during, letting the medic talk himself as deep as he is willing to delve and spilling all his scars that cannot be seen nor healed with a simple fix.

That part of Ratchet, the repressed memories and regrets and happenings that have made the other mech who he is today, are a part of Cybertron's past that he will always hold onto and continue to pursue so long as the other is willing to let him.

-Fin-


End file.
